rainman

I think I'd stand up at the last possible moment, then cross my legs. I'd screw right into the ground, and they'd have to excavate me.... Rainman

I had the exact same thing happen to me at about 20 jumps. It was a long spot and I was *very* thorough in my controllability check because the springloaded pilot caused a slight turn, so I had to land out, no problems. I never got a satisfactory explanation as to what might cause this, other than 'it happens.' Pure speculation here, but maybe the greater forward (and downward) speed on non-student equipment prevents this rare phenomenon? Blue skies, Rainman

I feel that the people most at risk due to their choice of wingloading are the ones that won't take education if its optional. So I think regulation is called for. I have 119 jumps, WL 1.10 Rainman

Even though I hardly use the Dropzone.com mail application, 15/6 sounds fine to me! Blue skies, Rainman

I'm not trying to bash on you here or make any kind of judgement about your abilities, I would just like to point out that to fly any parachute at that wingloading in the Netherlands you would need to have at least 1000 (that's right, one thousand) jumps, of which at least 100 in the last 12 months. Be safe, Rainman

I'm glad to see people whose opinions I've come to respect (skybytch, billvon and others) like the new Dutch system apart from some children's diseases! By the way: At 100 jumps, with a merit 190 at 1:1.05 I'm a cat III jumper with a cat II canopy at a cat I wingload. Rainman

I only contacted L&B on one occasion when I told them I love my ProTrack and to beg for a new feature (altitude in ft, speed in kph). I received an almost immediate response from them, but I am in the same timezone, which could explain at least some lag in your case... (edited for clarity) Blue skies, Rainman

I usually jump from a Cessna Grand Caravan (could that be C208B?), which has the one-point attachments with a quick-release like the release on an RSL if you know what I mean. We are all sitting on the floor with our backs towards the propellor. Everyone on board is supposed to use these 'seat-belts' and I usually do use them, but I have serious doubts whether they will hold you in even a hard landing.... Apart from that they do obviously provide quite a lot of mobility which is not what you want in case of a crash. Rainman

What are your thoughts on wingloading regarding mixed ZP/F111 canopies? The reason I'm asking is that at 94 jumps I am loading my Merit 190 at 1:1 to 1:1.05 (depending on breakfast), and I am pretty sure that the Merit has a ZP topskin and a 'F111' bottomskin. Am I taking more risks than I would on a similarly loaded fully ZP canopy, or is it 'merely' that my canopy will not last as long as a ZP canopy? Rainman

WOW!!!!!!!!!!!! Looks like I've found my new desktop background! Congratulations to all those involved and a big thumbs up to the DZ.com members that kept us up to date! Blue skies, Rainman

1. What are you thoughts on base jumping?? I will never ever do a base jump myself. Suppose I'd manage to pull it off, my wife would happily strangle me if she found out! BTW: I'm afraid of heights of > 2 mtr. when my feet are on 'terra firma' 2. Does this forum affect your feeling toward you base jumping and why? If anything this forum has made me realize that I know way too little about it to even consider base-jumping. OTOH, reading this forum has given me a lot of respect for BASE-jumpers, while I used to think of them as mental cases. (I'm a BASE-whuffo ) 3. If you do want to jump, how many jumps (just a guess) do you think you will have when you will be ready to jump and has this forum affected that number? Has it caused the number to be higher or lower and why? If anything this number has gone up, say from 250 to maybe around 500. 4. Hypothetical- If you made a couple of jumps with a experienced jumper or attended a fjc, would you be comfortable continuing your jumping on your own, with just the information from here or Blinc? I don't think I trust information from the Internet enough to bet my life on it! Blue skies, beautiful 'Objects', Rainman

We gave my mom a tandem-jump for her fiftieth birthday, she had to wait for seven hours at the DZ, but when the time finally came they took her to 15,000 ft. (at my DZ tandems normally go to 9,000 ft), they logged 58 seconds of 'droguefall', and the photos and video show the plane diving after them. It is the most awesome tandem video I've ever seen! And yes, she does show it to anyone and everyone. She is definitely going to jump again and loves coming to the DZ with me. If only my wife could be that enthusiastic! Rainman

Could you explain what you mean by that? Do you mean you'll get harder openings on a sloppy ZP-packjob than on a sloppy F111 packjob? I must admit that this is the first time I've heard of this! Blue skies, Rainman

Michele: you ROCK!!! I knew you could do it! Thanks for the great story too! Blue skies, Rainman

OK all, let's agree on one thing: HH ROCKS IMO the quality and quantity of the information (in the other forums) is so high, that dropzone.com could be a professional, commercial site. But..... it isn't commercial!!!! As most of you probably know the whole thing is run by Sangiro who recently admitted that it costs him about a rig and a half per year !!!!!!! Yes, there is a point to this post: Don't ask what dropzone.com can do for you, ask what you can do for dropzone.com If you can spare any money at all, give some thought to a donation to Sangiro. I'm thinking money for a jump-ticket, hardware, a database license, or advertisements on the site. Disclaimer: I don't want to suck up or anything, but running dropzone.com should not cost Sangiro and arm and a leg!!! Oh yes, and obviously I practice what I preach, I even signed up for paypal () to do it.

ROTFLMAO!!!!!!! That is SO funny! Now could you please explain to my colleagues why I was laughing like crazy?!?!?! And to think that lots of people in The Netherlands jump French gear.... Rainman

*** Clay: ...a round will ALWAYS turn and run with the wind.. Bruno: Can you explain why??? [/qoute] NNNNNNNNNNNNOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!!!! You must be one of those people that pushes any button labelled 'DANGER' or 'DO NOT TOUCH'.... 'We' have been over this numerous times but it has become clear that it is best to agree to disagree...... Blue skies, Rainman

My first jump was a staticline over Texel (the Netherlands), in june 1991. I made six jumps then, then didn't jump for nearly 10 years (what was I thinking????), and started my AFF in February 2001. I finally got my A license in September (?) 2001, so you could say it took me more than ten years to get my A! Rainman

That's just too funny!!! Only thing is I can't possibly explain to my colleagues why I was ROTFL... Rainman

My thoughts go out to Drew, heal quickly man... Ramon

Regardless of whose fault it was, this is the scariest video I ever saw....unbelievable that no-one was hurt! Does anyone know the approx. distance between the wing and the stabilizer on a bomber like that, and the approx. cruising speed (as Craig mentioned it appears to be flying slower than belly terminal). I would be interested in trying to calculate the clearances (if any)... Rainman

Hey, I'm glad you're OK! And thanks for the warning to all of us! Blue skies,

Just to add my 0.02 Euro's worth (or does '€' work for you as well): I think it's great that manufacturers take the time to explain their philosophy and their production process and whatever else they wish to share ! Like someone already mentioned people on these boards strike me as smart enough to filter out the occasional bit of self-promotion. Given my own very limited knowledge of skydive gear manufacturing, I have to rely on others to point out glaring omissions (sp?) and 'untruths'. For as far as my choice of gear is concerned, let's just say that I don't take very kindly to being lied to, especially when it could potentially harm me. Keep the information coming, and please everyone continue being critical! Blue skies,

I dunno if this is what you mean, but a rigger told me that the plastic hook knife thingies are actually made for cleaning/gutting fish. His description of how this works put me off fish for a couple of weeks...Anyways, my personal opinion is that the plastic hook knives will surely break at the least convenient time. The same guy told me that should you ever want to use a hook knife to get rid of your reserve, your best bet is to cut the risers, since the lines are made of almost the same material as the cut-proof gloves used by butchers etc. Apparently risers under tension cut rather easily. Blue skies,

Thanks for the information Wendy! I've since found out that this is exactly what happened! Apparently the canopy stalled rather abruptly when it was flared, causing the hard landing. A controllability check after opening could have prevented this injury. Blue skies,